Pontoon for aircraft



PONTOON FOR AIRCRAFT Filed Dec. 9, 1929 lNVENTOR h ILL MN I Vm M/LLER Patented Mar. 3, 1931 ;Y NIT1EDI'S ATE WILLIAM: JOHN ON'MI-LLER, or SEATTLE, wnsi-iiiieromnssrenon or ONE-HALF T 'DONIS M. sermon, on SEATTLE,WASHINGTON sonmmomm im v r Applicationfiled Deceniher 9,1929. ism-m No. 412,726.

' M 're sp'eciiic'allyastated, the object of the present invention is to provide a hollow pon 10 .ltoon with closure members at its forward and rearward ends which may .be opened while the craft isin flight andthus permit a direct flow of air through the pontoon for the purpose of reducing airresistance toaminimum,

and to provide for utilizing thepontoon to a certain extent as alifting 'inediumsupplem'enting tlie wingsof the airplane. I It is also an object'of the invention to pro- "vid efpontoonfs of the. above stated character with means easilyla'ccessible tofthe pilot'of 'the'airplane whereby the end closu're' members of the portion may beo'pene d or closed at will, as a means, forbraking to slowi p the speed 'ofthe' planefor landing.

Other objects of the invention reside in the details of construction andcombination of tlie.'various parts'of the pontoon, and in their 'i'node of operation as will heieinatter'be de- In accomplishing tlieseandpther objects of the invention, 1 haveprovid'ed the details of construction, the preferred forins of which are illustrated inlthe accompanying draw- 'iiigs,wherein f Y 7 Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion ot'an airplane which is equipped witha pontoon cmbodyingthe presentinvention. V,

- FigureQ 1 s longitudinalsection of the pontoon. ,l v q 40 Fi gig a cross? sectional view of the same on line 3+3 Figure2."

Figure 4 i a cross iseotional' detail of a pontoon of an alternative form of constructioii. '1 1 1 4-5 It will here be stated that it has been proven that the speed to be obtainedby 'an airplane it when taking olf and to give the most satisc whenequipped 'Wltl'l: pontoons,' 'is greatly lessened by reason of tlie: 'esistanfce ofair to thei Qn Q W il fi s rdieerr iiq t si i not of much 'weightyitdoe's present consi-derable resistance area. .Heretofore pontoons in general have been of a boat like construction, tightly and permanently closed so as to serve properly to sustain the craft on water.

The present invention makes possible the elimination of practically 'all air resisting surfaces While the plane is in flight and,'by

this elimination gives theair access'to or c0ntact with surfaces of the pontoon'which will then serve to supplement the wings as additional lifting area. I

lteferringimore in detail to the drawings- 1 designates the fuselage of what may be an airplane of the 'ordinarytype of construction, and 2 designates a pontoon embodied by this invention, which is designed to support the airplane on water. The pontoon would be of suitable dimensions to provide the necessary displacement to satisfactorily support the plane. Asillustrated, the pontoon extends lengthwise of and directly below the fuselageand is connected with the latter through the medium" of .a plurality of braces or struts 3, which may be attached thereto and to the fuselage. of the plane i ii' any suitable manner. I -In its preferred form of construction, the pontoon consists of an elongated housing, of

sheet metal,wood or other desirable material;

The top wall substantially fiat, the bottom Q11 wall in 'a plane parallel therewith and the side walls are substantially vertical, so that the pontoon" isrectangular in cross section. The opposite -r ends of the pontoon are equipped with doors or closure members 7 7', which are attached to the forward j flllCl rearward edgesof the bottom wall by Water tight hinges 8 which, permit the clo--;

sure membersto be moved between open and closed] positions. V'lhesedoors, or closures are mounted in such manner that, when in .closed position, the pontoon mayiunction after the fashion of a sled runner. It is preferred that the rearward end he sloped at an angle substantially less than the forward end,. so 'as to reduce the water resistance "--ing the end members or doors of the pontoon 1 on the top wall of the pontoon in bearing members 11. At the ends of the cross rods 'are lateral arms 12 pivotally connected by links 13 with pins or studs 1 f fixed in the side edges of the doors. Diverging lever arms 15-45 are fixed to the cross rods and cables"17'-I7 extend from these over suitable guides 18 to hand levers 19 within the plane The hand levers are'pivotally.mounted, as at 20, and may be adjusted along holding means of any suitable type indicated at 21 to retain them at differentpositions towhich they may be adjusted. The construction provided is such that forward and rearward movement of the hand levers will cause the.closuremembers 7+? to bemoved hingedly between open and closed positions. To insure a tight connection between the edges of the closure members and the pontoon, it is preferred to have rubber gaskets, as at 22, inset along'theedges of the pontoon against which the doors may be tightly closed.

Assuming that the pontoon is so constructed and attached to the plane, it is readily apparent that while the plane 'is in flight, the pontoon ends may beopened downwardly'to the positions shown in dotted lines in Figure 2,andw illthereby permit of a direct flow of air through the pontoon. This re duces the resistance of air tothe pontoon to a minimum. It is also apparent that by properly .suspending the pontoon, the top and bottom wall surfaces thereof may be utilized as lifting medium. lVhen it is desired to land the plane, the rearward closure member 7 may be partly or entirely closed, and thereby afford resistance to the passage of air through the pontoon and effect a'braking action to slow up the speed of'the plane for landing. Before the plane lands on the .water, both end members may be ,tigl'itly closed and the pontoon is then in condition to support the plane in water. v

It is readily appa'rent'that various details in the construction of the pontoon and the closure members, and also in the inannerand means whereby the latter may be opened and closed, may be changed without departing from the spirit of the invention, and for this reason it is not desired that'the c'laims'be limited only to details shown, but thatthey broadly cover the device commensurate with the scope of the invention. 7

In Figure 4, I have illustrated an alternaof the'pontoon is rigidly spaced from the top wall 26 by struts 27; The s ide walls 28 are hinged as at28 to open outwardly, and levers 29 are attached to'the hing'e or sides for opening the side outwardly to "be in a plane parallel with the top wall, asindicate'd in dottedlines. Theseslevers arejoinefdlby toggle .mechan-ism 30 :a; 1clL-. thus is attached by cab] es -351. and 32 .to 1 the" cables '17:?17 in suchmanner that manipulation of the hand lever to open and close the ends 7-7 simultaneously opens and closes the sides. This construction makes possible the use of the sides'as lifting surfaces for supplementing the wings.

Havingthus described my invention what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

to .opeirposition-to permit'fiowof air through the pontoon.

4. A pontoon of the character described comprising a substantially.hollow body with closure members atits forward and rearward ends :movable between open and closed positions, and means .formoving the said closure members to open positions to permit flow of air through the pontoon and vfor returning them to closed positions.

.5. vA pontoon ,of the character described comprising a hollow, elongated body, closure ,members hingedly attached to .the body at the forward and rearward ends thereof, and vmeans for individually moving the closures between open-and closed positions.

6. A pontoon of the character described I 5 comprising a hollow, elongated body,.closure members at the forwardand rearwardends of the bodyhingedly attached to and'inclined upwardly from the bottom wall, and means for moving the closure membersfrom closed to .open position to permit of a direct passageof airlengthwise through-the pontoon.

7 A pontoon of the-character described comprising an elongated, hollow body with horizontal top andbottom wall surfaces, cl0- sure members at the ends .of the. pontoon hingedly attached and adapted to be opened to provide a directpassage of air through the pontoon and to permit lifting contact of I 2 air withthe said top; andbottom'sur faces. tive construction 111 which the-bottom wall 25 8. A pontoon of the .characteridescribed comprising an elongated, hollow body of rectangular crosssection with hingedly attached closure members at its" forward and rearward ends, and. means for movingthe closureinemhershetween open and closed poiti n co prisi g ss sh f moun d n t e pontoon, arm to he ri s sha temm ng-th wi h the losur s, and means Tori-rotating the shafts "to move .f'

tions. i v

9. A pontoon comprising'a hollow body with side and end Walls adapted to be moved the closures between open and e1osedposifrom closed positions to open positions to serve as ail-foils.

10. A pontoon comprising a holloiv body,"

having hinged end and side Walls, and means operable to adjust the said side and end Walls from closed positions to open positions sub stantially horizontal to relieve air resistance and to serve as atirfoils.v

' Signed at Seattle, Washington, this 25th day of November, 1929.

I WILLIAM 'J. VON MILLER. 

